Using Reader-Response Theory to Study Poetry about the Holocaust with High School Students

What parents in Scotland say about their primary aged children learning about the Holocaust

“…Becher, 2009;Eckmann and Stevick, 2017, pp. 293-295;Peaceman, 2003;Schweber, 2008;Totten, 1999). Given that pupils in this study learned about a child's experiences at Theresienstadt concentration camp, in Schweber's terms 'the fuller version' of the Holocaust (2008), it would not have been surprising had parents conveyed serious and consistent concerns about this topic.…”

“…Many researchers and Holocaust educators share the view that the horrors of the Holocaust should not be taught to primary students, (e.g. HET, 2016;Totten, 1999;Woolley, 2010) and it is likely that the anecdotal evidence indicating parental concerns about teaching the Holocaust in primary schools are reflective of these concerns. However, there is a lack of consensus in defining exactly what these 'horrors' are and this leads to tension.…”

Curricular Messages: How State Standards and Children's Books Narrate 9/11

“…There exists an emotional resistance to the teaching of controversial topics and traumatic events in elementary schools as discussed in a recent study of teacher candidates (Papola-Ellis, 2016), and indeed we recognize the controversial nature of including topics such as 9/11 in elementary school curriculum. There is vehement disagreement, for example, about whether or not including complicated histories, such as the Holocaust, in the elementary grades is curricularly sound (Sepinwall, 1999;Totten, 1999). Hess (2009) reminds us that "research shows that young children can deal successfully with ideas that are developmentally appropriate and highly scaffolded.…”

Teaching Short Stories in the Omani Context: The Use of the Reader Response Theory

“…However, some studies found that some activities used helped the students in improving their reading and writing skills [6] and they came to a clear understanding and deeper appreciation of the literary text [24].…”

“…McEneaney et al [14.] assigned writing tasks to examine students' recall and understanding of expository hypertext. Totten [24] Probst [18] & Henly [12] designed frame-works which were used as Teacher's manual in teaching literary texts to their students.…”